Park Hotel Reviews

This hotel is advertised as a four star hotel - it is not!
The quality of accommodation is two star at best. The food is average and the dining room very small. It is impossible to not be bothered about other guests moving around closely to you at the self service counter. The pool is small and I saw three people fall down the three steps leading up to the pool.
The gym is very poor with some of the equipment not working fully.
The staff are friendly but be careful about being bothered about time share reps on the street from the UK.
Take my advice - stay in St Julian about half a mile away.
Some good value restuarants in Silima.

It was our first time to Malta and we stayed in Sliema for two weeks which was not a bad choice but it is an area that could definately do with modernising. The hotel that we stayed in was the ";Park Hotel"; which was apparently a four star and to be fair it probably was when it was built in the 90's but it was a far cry from the British four star. The room that we stayed in was very basic and the bathroom was a bit mouldy and paint was coming off the ceiling, it really needed decorating! and even though we booked a double room we ended up with two separate beds that we had to push together ( a far cry from the holiday brochre).

We went half board which was a complete waste of money as the evening meals were less than average and it didnt help matters because I am vegetarian but the chef tried his best thats all I could say.
Breakfasts were fine apart from the fact that the hotel staff didnt change the tablecloths between breakfast sittings which was fine if you were the first down for breakfast but if you went later the tables were ";disgusting";.
The rest of the hotel was very average!

For a good night out Paceville had lots of bars and a few clubs and it was about 10 mins from sliema if you went by the local buses. The only problem that we found was that there was hundreds of foreign students who apparently go to Malta to learn English for a few weeks every year but because the legal age to drink in Malta is 16yrs we encountered alot of 14-16yr olds very very drunk and out of hand which was not pleasant ( and we are not prudes ) it was like been in a kindergarten!

Valleta was fab and easy to get to by bus or by the local boat from Silema across the harbour. ";The Pub"; in archbishops street which was the Oliver Reads last resting place is definatetly a place to go! a word of warning though dont go Valleta at night for night life or a drink as there are no watering holes.

Final thoughts on Malta are that is a very quirky place with lots to see and it is incredibly cheap to get around so dont shell out for coach tours. Unless you like really hot weather dont go in July/August as it is unbearable. Dont hire a car as the Maltesse people have no driving ability what so ever, and last but not least the pub measures of spirits are the same as in Britain so no big measures of shorts ( very disappointing )

Arrived 3am after flight delay. Very vague and unhelpful at the hotel. Still no room for us by 4am. Some bizarre story as to why no accomodation for us ie there was a room but somebody else was in it! We asked for a drink of water for which we were then charged! The receptionist disappeared for 20 mins. Still NO room. We then became insistant that we wanted a room somewhere and we were finally taken to the Preluna for the night. The Preluna was full for the rest of our stay, so we were offered a choice of 3 rooms at the Park. We opted for a high floor near to the roof terrace. We were also given a free dinner that night as compensation, although we were charged for the drink we had with it!

We stayed on a BandB basis luckily as the food was only adequate. The breakfast was the same every morning (only change was scrambled or fried egg from day to day). The size of the plates were like a child's dinner plate. The surround to the pool area had the grouting broken and lying about not swept up and so the trip across it to the pool was hard on the feet. It would have only taken ten mins. to tidy it up. However he pool itself was lovely.

One morning we awoke to no water. We enquired about it and were told that the pump had broken down. Don't most hotels have a back-up in place? There is a general air of penny-pinching and fire-fighting here and it seemed to affect staff morale. Some staff wre very pleasant but a good number of them looked fed-up.

Our room was well cleaned every day, no complaints about that. The net curtains though had not been washed for some time and were very grubby. The air conditioning was never on whilst w e were there and it seemed to be the entry route for loads of mosquitoes! I was OK but they feasted on my husband!

The Preluna was a very good hotel. Friendly staff very helful.

We spent many evenings there as the entertainment was varied and suited us. The Skyline bar had fabulous views and good prices. One restaurant we especially liked was on Tower Road not far from Preluna in the direction of St Julian's. It is called Ta Kollina. The food is first class and the staff are too. Good menu loads of choice. Give it a try! Tony's bar on the Strand was very good for lunchtime snacks. The views across to Valetta from the Strand are amazing. The ferry runs every 15 mins. and is very cheap. Valetta is a must. It is like stepping back into history. So atmospheric. The views across the Gand Harbour are breath taking.

We did the tour our the Manoel Theatre. Only small but very interesting. The cathedral is unique and another must. The entrance to the City at the bus station feels like another film set! We did a day trip to Gozo which is surprisingly a lot greener than Malta due to the type of clay. Good value for money but the only trip we did. Malta has such a good bus service across the island you can go anywhere yourselves. One week was certainly not enough time to visit all the history of Malta.

To sum up: Would we go back to Malta? Definitely! Would we go back to the Park Hotel? Definitely NOT!

Malta first timers so we went with an open mind.

Enjoyed the holiday booked with Malta Direct, everything went well and got to fly from my nearest airport EMA which was a bonus.

Arrived at the Park last of the bus (again) at o dark 30 and was put into a room on the 4th floor. Bit of a ";bathroom"; smell and the stench of cigarette smoke but we were so knackered we decided to crash out and sort it in the morning.

After some negotiations with the hotel staff and Malta Direct rep, we were moved into a room on the 2nd floor with a tiny balcony and a side view of the sea.

Room OK, décor and furniture looking a bit tired, but everything was there, little fridge, tele, phone etc. Only thing to really criticise was the aircon, which was poor and the towels (I've got more fluff in my navel).

We went BandB so was faced with the same stuff everyday. Once again, enough of it and plenty of variety. Good service in the Hotel all around, everyone willing to please and assist. Indoor pool in the basement, pool and bar on the roof, internet PC's available, whirlpool and fitness centre.

Entertainment 3 times a week, you know, the ";Tie a yellow ribbon round every oak tree on the way to Amarillo"; type stuff, normally with a guy and a keyboard, not our kind of stuff so we left it alone after day 1.

Resort area OK with lots of building work going on. Promenade completed now from Sliema to St Julian's bay which made a relaxing walk at all times of the day. Well interspersed with bars and restaurants so if it all got too much, you could have a sit down and a drink.

Trips OK in the main. Had 2 free trips thrown in by MD so suggest the Harbour trip if you're first timers as it helps put the locations into perspective.

Reps do push their trips and we booked up for the Mt Etna in Sicily. Cost around £140 for the two and consisted of a 2 hour trip to Sicily, a 300 mile round trip on a coach, a 3 hour stay at a hilltop village who's very existence seemed to be to cater to (and rip off) tourists (£1.40 for a small diet coke) and finally a ride up to Mt Etna.

Would have been fine except your 6500 feet up in the air where it's cold. It was also throwing it down with rain in the middle of a violent thunderstorm and the mountain was shrouded in low cloud.

If you do decide to go, check the 5 day forecast to make sure the weather looks to be OK (trips go every day) and take some warm clothing with you. By the way, if the guide tells you that you need Euros don't believe him when he also tells you that the ATM machines only give a minimum of 250 euros at each transaction. He is only trying to flog you euros at a very bad (for you) rate. ATM minimum withdrawals is 20 euros.

All in all, not a bad 2 weeks. It's not a cheap destination with food and booze being around the same price as the UK. But the sun, sea and history of the place make a return trip very likely.

Went on holiday on the 4th of January from Birmingham and arrived at the Park hotel just a little late for dinner.The hotel receptionist informed us because we missed our meal we were entitled to have a lunch any day of our choosing.

WE were allocated a front view room on the first floor, this suited us fine.The only trouble was the heating in the room would not close down and by the morning we felt we would not need to visit the hotel's sauna facilities, we would just stay in our room.

The next day we had a choice of various rooms and took one still on the first floor which had a sea view.The Park hotel is classed as a 4 star I would rate it more as 3 star compared to British standards. The staff in the hotel are very friendly and would help you with anything and they try very hard to make your holiday enjoyable.

I have travelled with package holidays for many years but I must honestly say I have never met a better holiday rep than the one Portland/ Thomson are employing at the Park hotel. Her name is Caroline and she is a local Maltese girl, if you are looking for dedication then give Caroline 5 stars she was excellent.

Sliema is probably the best resort to stay in, on a winter holiday the population are all around this area.Anyway we enjoyed our holiday in Malta and will certainly come back again possibly for a longer stay for better value Malta itself is geting quite expensive because they now have joined the EC, but if you have a good hotel,have nice locals and are lucky enough to get good weather, like we did then Malta can give you a rewarding experience.